Life saving equipment



' Nov. 24, 1931.

P. E. BEAGLE LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENT Filed Dec. 31, 1928 Hllum.

INVENTOR PEARLEY E. BEAQLE MQ W ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1 931 i I i f fUi NITED l J rEnnLnY mm isgp'mq wmi 4pp1iation filed December 31,1925. s n-a1 masseuse.

This invention relates to lifesaving; equip- 111811 6 for use on marine vessels and has par-' ticular reference to the construction of a llfe saving buoy Within which a score or-inore A5 personsrmay be carried andwhich may be quickly and easily launched and which cannot be tipped or' tilted in any manner that would cause the c'astingout of any of its occupants during the launching operation. V p t l t is the principal object oijthis invention to provide a life saving device in the form of a closed buoy, Within which a score or more persons may be secured in a safe and com-4 fortable manner, and to equip this buoywwith meanswhereby, if such is necessary or desired it may be launched'by one of its oecupants, or it can be launched by persons on the deck of the vessel on which it is carried. It is a further object of this inventionto.

29 so construct a launching davit for the buoy that the latter will automatically he swung clear. of the deck of the vessel as soon as itg'is lifted clear of the blocks on which it isno'rmally supported and its Weight thereby trans- 5 ferred to the davit.

t .A further object is to providethe buoy with compartments in-thebottoin portion thereof for the storage 7 of fresh water and food supplieswh'ich will serve as ballast for 30 holding the buoy in an upright positions V A still further object of theinvention is to make provision whereby the buoy, after. being launched, may be propelled and steered by its occupants.

Other objects of the invention reside the various details of construction and' int'he combination of parts and in their mode of operation, as will hereinafterbe described.

40 I have provided the improved-detailsof construction, the preferred forms o'f which are illustrated in I the accompanyingdrawings,

7 wherein Figure 1 is-a verticalcross'section of a life 1" '45" saving buoy constructed accordance with j the present invention.

Figure 2 isjan elevation, illustratiiigthe -manner of mounting the'bu-oy on the deck of.

a vessel and vthe manner. in-Vwvhichitisysusso pended fro nthe launchingjgiavit yent lnvent on Ilns buoy cons sts of a 0i cnlar vessel, preferably of sheet niet'aljcon being equipped wit-h iantoutwardly ywhichris releasable frondwith the 7 upper avail of the lone cllosur'esj 'z; ofjany suitable} io r the admittance; of light, At jonewside' 'df the opening 2 is a vertically stack, i or ventilatingtube, 8 for thefadniitta'nceoif;

port of a flag or pennafntl' (s t we Side, the e r re; servingas -sup ports ioncross bars vessehit rescissionsuppertinggjblo$s 0 a! Figure 3 is an enlarge of their clavitf and tackle therewith,

I fer-ring lllQTQ l lllZillZillid thedi'af v.1 designates,in a enti ety, in

buoy constructed in accordance with t' struction, providedcentfa-lly at the t fvtith Opening} through Whicir'the m may enter and leave the device ythis or A a 1 closure, or cover, 3" t l'lilttlShl gedlyat'tached,

as at 4;, and which. is adapted to; besecuried s t ghtly in closed positioiilby means afghan, '3

brother suitable, aeyie, as designated a i sj 5% h e ea Pler y adapted to be ciosedjtig-ht" which preferablyivould include glass air, 'or, Which;-may :serveafor theflexte'sion ltherethroughof pe iseepajor the li-kei stafi 10 is attachedito, this stack vslightly as theyextendldovvnyvardlyaso that 1 the diameter of. the buoy is a little greater; at

,the base'th'an at -the top,- therebyi avoiding a anytopheavines's yvhich inight'tendfto cause tipping' gor jtilting, A I The wall 1'2i is as ,downwardly curved andspac ed aboyef this,;is*- 15a fin r .13 en a h ch is J ri ed- -P irei 1 v ity of separate compartments :14 awithin In accomplishing these and otherlobjects, V p Y M i I and which will serve in the capacityotibal-veo last to add which 1 Water and =-provisions a be stored sea Wort ss" and :stabilit 0 the, device.

2 Whe e bu yi i fpl e n rThe slde ,Walls lliof'the ves'sellare sb e elves, 6 5 in wh c t 'e i en may 4 r a ii I anchored infplace' meanis of a plurality of guys 21 whichhave their lower ends secured to the deck, as shown in Figure 2, and have 7 'keys 24ers located 'within'the buoy andare V designed so that they may be readilyremoved by persons; within the ;buoy; Re-

Inoval of the keys releases the anchoringguys i and frees'the buoy forlaunching, '3:

, per jhoriz ontallyextended end portion over :The device isadapted tobe launched fibril a davit which is' moiint'ed on the dQQkIfiOf.

the,,vessel,ias shown in Figure 2, withits up- V lyingithe buoyiandits lower end rotatably mountedin a supportingsocket261wh1ch has 'ladownwardly.andflaterallyfsloping top'sun 31 .8 27; jA'piniQS fixed in the davit bears against-the sloping surface of the socket and when the weight of the buoy. is transferred to thedavit the'latter will rotate in the sup- "launched; I

' port 26-toswing-thebuoy to a po ition 'at the side-of the 'vessel 'whereitfn ay safely As here shown, the buoyha's a suspending i bailBO attachecl to pins, 7 or 'bolts, 3l which" "arefiprojectedthrough openings 32fat o'ppo-' "site sjide'siofthei'entr'ance' 2 and are secured therein by keys 33 rthr o ugh theirrinnerQends,

f The ba'il is suspended :f'rom'a hook34 attached V "pendedfrom a bloclr fiby meansof the wind f i-ingjs'ofa cablef37; The block 36 injtur niiS;

attaCheditoafhook 3,8 at theout'er end of-the V daivitfl In Ta preferred'."arrangement, the

' lower block-is atriple sheave construction-5 andl 't he"upper: 'block'isa double' 'she'aye coni t' o"'struction;" a

' }The deck end' ofthejcable37 is wound ona 'reel '40"tha"t is attached "to the davit near its balseendg'i From this the cable extends up- I 415 lwardly along the 'dayit over suitable guides 'davitfiand 'isjthreaded through the blocks I and136,"as shown; then it leads upwardly and v foyer 'acpu'lley ll fixe'd 'onrthe davit, and then fdownwardly," through an opening 48 in :the-

top wallglof' the buoy, and is wound-abouta c 'dr'um 5O loc'atedwithin the buoy. :The drum} c 'l5 O is mounted on a,revolubly supportedshaft l 1 .f5l andmay berevolved therewith bymea'ns' Voila crank-52 on'theshaft-so astdwind' the a cable" 37 onto" or fronifthedruxn; A' suitable cranki 53c is alsoflproyidedfor rotating the druInAO for --launching thedevice fromflithe deck oi the "esseh aslwill presentlyfb jmore a y escri an u lere aininepaw nd 1 fratfchets,i;as fat 54,-'aref1associatd with i ll and'thenidownwardly from the end of the ls540andf to 'reve'nt unwinding QmayFbe left open. 7 V V After the'buoy has been" lowered into th 1 through the buoy wall and is" connected at .its innerend 'through suitable gearing as at 57, a vertical shaft 58 and gearing 59, with the shaft 51 so that rotation of thelatter, by, means of the crank 52, will also turn theproi "peller." A suitable clutch det'ice,;as-atv6O,"is also provided whereby the reel 50 maybe dis connectedfromthe propeller mechanism or iv the-propellerdriVed-isconnected from the feel: A rud'de'i" 61"is 7'alsoprovided, rearwardly ogt the propeller, and this is operated under the control of alever.62'thatfextends' c within thebuoy; l ..A"suitable guard, or. frame, 63;isifixed to the buoy to p1 otect the propeller" and serves also as the supportfor the rudder. "Whileithas not been-illustrated herein, it 'inayhe desirabletolocate the propellerand rudder within a recess that could be formed upwardly within the bottom wall of the buoy instead of these parts;being located in the manner shown, and when so located; theywould be better protected from obstacles'with which the'device may corne in-contactliHowever, the location of these parts ismore or'less optional; r i

1 Assuming the devicejtobe soconstructed,it

is'to be used as follows In cases of emergency,

the occupants enter the' device through the topopening2 while the buoy 'i'ests on the d'eckof V, the vessel; then, when-thebuoy has been-loaded, the guysQl aredetachedby pull:

in'g the keys Qand thenthe'top-opening2 is closed by lowering the cover-3 and securing f plaoeby means ofthe bolt 5. If the buoy 1sto-1be launched by anoccupant, this-is done I by rotating the shaft 5Iby'1neans of the cr'anl'r 523basto windin "the cable37 on theldrum ly'to thefside ofthe vessel." 'Iheoccupantthen 7 launching'isto be done by "persons on the deck, this "is done in a similarimanne'r byfirst winding in-the cableon the druin 40 to free 7 the buoy of. the;- supporting block 20.; then,

- after-the buoy" ha'skbee'n swung 'toa' position .7 at the side of the-yessehthe cableis unwoundf I from the drumc lO" and the'buoy thereby 1ow-; '--er;ed' into the watenfA fte'r "the" device has 1' f been lowered into ,thefwate'n iti is oa'st free ff of the supporting tackleby'pullingthe keys 33 which'attachesthe b 'ail thereto.} 1i i c '7 ffInJcase of rough water -the 'p'ort'holesi I 6:: V would beleft closed and ventilatlon would be; 5 alf orded through; thestackfi, -;I f "mashe o h i p p ni i is cahn,"th'e port holesfand 'unwindsjthe cable 87 from the drum 50,ther'ebyi'lower'ing the buoy intothe water. .If the 'Iclaim as new therein and combination, a deck, a life saving buoy water and the winding drum 50 freed from the shaft 51, the crank 52 is rotated 'so as to revolve the propeller for moving the device and steering is done by manipulation of the rudder controlled lever 62.

Such devices may be made in various sizes and in various shapes, and it is-readily apparent that certain details of construction may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it'is not 7 desired that the claims be limited only to the g o details that are herein shown.

Having thus described my invention, what by Letters-Patent, is:

1. A life saving equipmentof the charac ter described, comprising in combination, a deck, a life saving buoy normally disposed on the deck, guys attachedito the deck and connected with the buoy for holding it in u right position, means releasable from within the buoy to disconnect the gu s, a launching davit and means controllable rom within the buoy for suspending and lowering the buoy from the launching davit'and means operable from within the buoy for releasing it from the suspending means.

2. A lifesaving equipment, comprisingin normally disposed on thedeck, guys-attac ed to the deck and havingends projected through openings in the buoy, and locking pins releasably applied to said ends; saidpins being releasable from within the buoy, alaunching davit, a cable for launching the buoy'con nected withrthe davit andflwith the buoy it through the medium of a bail; said bail having ends projected into the buoy through openings therein with locking keys through said ends releasable from Within the buoy.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 10th day of December. 1928.

PEARLEY E. BEAGLE,

desire to secure a 

